LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES BAKER
Just War Criteria &
the Crisis in the Persian Gulf
January-February 1991By Roger Mahony

Roger Mahony is the Archbishop of Los Angeles.

Ed. Note: On November 12, during its general meeting in Washington, D.C., the full body of Catholic bishops of the U.S. affirmed Archbishop Mahonys letter (dated November 7) and made that letter its own statement. The entire text of the let­ter follows.

Dear Mr. President:

I write as Chairman of the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Catholic Confer­ence to share several concerns and criteria regarding possible use of U.S. military force in the Persian Gulf. As Catholic bishops we are deeply concerned about the human conse­quences of the crisis  the lives already lost or those that could be lost in a war, the free­dom denied to hostages, the victims of aggres­sion, and the many families divided by the demands of military service. As religious teachers, we are concerned about the moral dimensions of the crisis  the need to resist brutal aggression, to protect the innocent, to pursue both justice and peace, as well as the ethical criteria for the use of force. As U.S. cit­izens, we are concerned about how our nation can best protect human life and human rights and secure a peaceful and just resolution to the crisis.

Our Conference has thus far emphasized five basic issues in addressing the crisis:

(1) The clear need to resist aggression. We cannot permit nations to simply over­whelm others by brutal use of force.

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